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Nothing can replicate the elation and hands-on experience of live performance. 

At Trinity Laban, you will have opportunities to widen your performing experience and work with industry-leading artists, as well as with your fellow students in a huge variety of formal and informal settings. 

Dance

Our award-winning Laban Building is home to world-class performance facilities, including: 

  • The 300-seat Laban Theatre, which was designed specifically for contemporary dance 
  • The 100-seat Studio Theatre 

You will also have the chance to create innovative site-specific and installation work in our indoor and outdoor spaces. 


Dance Repertory Project 

My favourite performance experience has definitely been the second-year historical project module. Over three weeks we recreated Wayne McGregor’s Polar Sequences and performed it in the Laban Theatre. It was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had in my life.

Jordan Lee Pirrie, UK
BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance 

 

Our second-year BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance students re-imagine works by significant 20th and 21st-century choreographers in this highlight of the year. 

Examples of previous choreographers include Matthew Bourne, Rosemary Butcher, Sasha Waltz, Uday Shankar (Protima Chatterjee), Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham and Wayne McGregor. 


Commissioned Work 

As a final-year BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance student, you will create and tour brand new work alongside established choreographers, preparing you for the pace and focus of the professional working process. Recent choreographers include Sarah Golding, Lea Anderson, Rhys Dennis and Waddah Sinada (Fubunation), Heidi Rustgaard, Divya Kasturi, Alleyne Dance and Freddie Opoku-Addaie. 


Choreography 

As a contemporary dance student, you will be encouraged to create your own work and perform in work created by your peers. Our shows provide platforms to share and observe in a supportive and open-minded environment. Many of our students go on to be successful choreographers and movement directors.


Collaboration

At Trinity Laban, you will have many opportunities to collaborate and perform with Music and Musical Theatre students. 

You may work with composers and musicians to create original music for choreography projects, and will have a place to come together, create and perform projects, building relationships across genres, disciplines, and cultures as part of our annual CoLab festival.

Together, you will experiment and innovate, taking audiences to new and exciting places. 


External Projects 

We actively encourage and seek out opportunities for you to participate in external projects or show work in spaces outside Trinity Laban. Recent projects have taken place at Southbank Centre, Whitechapel Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Montgomery Square (Canary Wharf), Tate Modern and in schools and colleges across the UK. 


Partnerships 

Our unique position in the field of dance enables partnership with leading companies such as Studio Wayne McGregor (a relationship reinforced by Wayne’s McGregor’s position as Visiting Professor at Trinity Laban), BalletBoyz, Candoco and the Royal Ballet School, as well as the national Centres for Advanced Training. 

We regularly collaborate with the Cunningham Trust to stage events through our faculty member and licensed stager, Daniel Squire. 

Delivered in conjunction with our partner organisations, Siobhan Davies Dance and Independent Dance, the MA/MFA Creative Practice programme enables experienced practitioners to develop their artistic practice in a stimulating environment of intellectual and creative inquiry. 

A singer performs at a microphone with a band in the background

Music

As a music student at Trinity Laban, you will never be short of performance opportunities. From projects specific to your course, to collaborative works and wider ensemble and external performances, you will have every opportunity to develop your performance skills, preparing you for your professional life.


Vocal Ensembles 

Our opera productions offer our students exceptional musical and theatrical experience, and our Chamber Choir, Chapel Choir, Chorus, and specialist vocal ensembles provide outstanding training for the profession. We are one of the few British conservatories where undergraduates and postgraduates alike can participate fully in opera training and are able to audition for all productions. 

Performance venues include the Old Royal Naval College Chapel, St Alfege Church in Greenwich, Blackheath Halls, Purcell Room (Southbank Centre), and the Barbican Centre. There are also opportunities to tour the UK and abroad. 

During my two years at Trinity Laban I had a wealth of opportunities to be involved in opera of all kinds, and all languages. That’s what I want to do – I want to be an opera singer – and Trinity Laban has definitely helped me develop the skills to go out into the professional world and get work.

William Branston, UK, BMus Performance (Voice) 

 

Trinity Laban Opera 

Led by Head of Vocal Studies, Jennifer Hamilton link to Jennifer’s profile, Trinity Laban Opera constantly pushes the boundaries of creative innovation. We present at least one major opera production each year, along with multiple sets of Opera Scenes. 

 

Undergraduate Chorus

You will have the chance of collaboration through performing with the Undergraduate Chorus. The Chorus comprises over 100 students from across the conservatoire and has a busy performance schedule throughout each year. 

 

Rubythroat

Rubythroat is Trinity Laban’s chamber vocal ensemble, created by ex-Swingle Singer and former Head of Vocal Studies, Linda Hurst. 

 

Chamber Choir 

The Trinity Laban Chamber Choir is our flagship vocal ensemble. Founded in 1990, it is one of the most active ensembles of all the London conservatoires, performing on BBC Radio, at the BBC Proms, at all the major London concert venues and touring in France, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands. 

It provides you with exceptional training for the profession, giving you opportunities to perform a variety of repertoire, from Renaissance and Baroque to contemporary music, an area of specialism here, while being conducted by industry professionals. Regular venues include the Old Royal Naval College Chapel and St Alfege Church in Greenwich as well as Blackheath Halls. 

 

Chapel Choir 

The Old Royal Naval College Trinity Laban Chapel Choir is regarded as one of the most outstanding sacred music ensembles in London. We are the only conservatoire in the UK to support a collegiate Chapel Choir. The Choir comprises of around 28 accomplished singers drawn mainly from Trinity Laban and surrounding communities.  

The Old Royal Naval College Chapel and its Director of Music, Dr Ralph Allwood MBE, provide an ideal springboard for you to work in the UK’s cathedral or church choirs, or follow other choral pathways. Collaboration with orchestral and jazz musicians, historical performers and composers is a particular feature of music in worship at the Chapel. 

Choral Scholarships are available to undergraduate and postgraduate students; many are first study vocal students, but other students are eligible to apply if it is compatible with other commitments. 

The scholarships are awarded for outstanding performance ability, as demonstrated at audition. Successful candidates for scholarships will be accomplished musicians, trained singers with the ability both to blend and take significant solo roles. Good sight reading is essential, as the repertoire is broad, extensive, and demanding whilst rehearsal time is limited. They will have a love of the sacred choral repertoire and want to be a member of a closely knit team. All candidates who audition are considered for a scholarship.  

We currently offer 14 Choral Scholarships annually in conjunction with the Dame Susan Morden Trust and the trustees of the Old Royal Naval College Chapel. 

 


Visiting artists

You will work with visiting artists and ensembles in masterclasses, workshops, and consultations, along with opportunities to be mentored by sponsors, entrepreneurs, and members of arts management. Recent guests include Trinity Laban Visiting Artist Barbara Hannigan, Nicky Spence, Susan Bullock, Gidon Saks, the ROH Jette Parker Young Artists, opera patron Ian Rosenblatt and composer Jonathan Dove.  

We also provide audition preparation sessions with panel members from the UK’s major opera companies and hold Q&A sessions with young professionals about the realities of working as a singer. 

We have ongoing links with several professional choral ensembles and Trinity Laban singers often work with groups such as the Monteverdi Choir, Genesis Sixteen and The London Philharmonic Choir.  

Our opera students regularly work with external directors and creative teams, learning specialist skills such as Combat Techniques, Physical Expression, and Stylistic Awareness. 


Classical Ensembles

String Ensemble 

String Ensemble has given many performances not only in prestigious London venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and St. John’s Smith Square, but also on the international circuit, including performances at Slovenia’s Ljubljana Festival, Italy’s Emilia Romagna Festival and at the Dartington International Summer School. 

The group have performed with many international artists including oboist Nick Daniel, clarinettists Dimitri Ashkenazy and Darko Brlek, pianists Deniz Gelenbe and William Howard, violist Rivka Golani, organist David Titterington, saxophonist Gerard McChrystal, actor Edward Fox and jazz musician Julian Arguelles, with whom they recorded the critically acclaimed album ‘As Above So Below’. 

The ensemble has also collaborated with cross-genre artists including Barry Adamson and Nick Cave, John Cale (Velvet Underground) and jazz pianist Uri Caine in a performance of Brahms’ Handel Variations. Experienced with working in contemporary dance, the ensemble has collaborated with various choreographers including Sonia Rafferty and Henri Oguike and Lizzi Kew Ross. 

The group has an eclectic range of repertoire from standards of the genre such as the Tchaikovsky and Dvořák Serenades to the works of living composers such as John Adams, Steve Reich and Eleanor Kats-Chernin. They have also given world premieres by prominent composers such as Paval Novak, Graham Fitkin, Benjamin Ellin and David Mathews. 

 

Symphony Orchestra 

We are proud to have relationships with some of the world’s most talented conductors; recent visitors have included André de Ridder, Jessica Cottis, David Danzmayr, Douglas Boyd, and Martin André. 

TLSO is led by the Trinity Laban Performance Department and works closely with Jonathan Tilbrook (Head of Orchestral Studies), Andrew Dunn (Head of Wind, Brass & Percussion) and Professor Nic Pendlebury (Head of Strings). Regular performance venues include Blackheath Halls, Cadogan Hall and most recently York Hall. 

 

Symphonic Brass 

 

Brass Ensemble 

 

Symphonic Winds 

 

Percussion Ensemble 

 

Wind Ensemble 

 

Shapeshifter 

 

Contemporary Music Group  

 

Concert Orchestra 

 

Sinfonia Strings 

 

Opera Orchestra 

 

Musical Theatre Pit Band 

 

Early Music Ensembles 

 

In addition to larger ensemble training, chamber music is a central focus of your training here at Trinity Laban. You will receive frequent coaching led by our internationally acclaimed staff. 

Every term you will work with the Carne Trust Ensembles in Residence at Trinity Laban: the Carducci Quartet, the Linos Trio and the Smith Quartet. Regular chamber concerts, masterclasses, and coaching days form part of our core provision for Strings, Piano and Wind, Brass & Percussion students, with a wide variety of opportunities for chamber performance collaboration available across the curriculum for Composition, Jazz, and Vocal students too. 


Jazz Ensembles

You will gain extensive performance experience in our large ensembles, from the Big Band playing classic jazz compositions to the Jazz Orchestra, which focuses on contemporary composers and importantly on students’ original writing. 

 

Big Band 

The Big Band, run by Winston Rollins, is a training band for all first- and second-year students. It runs weekly and focuses on giving you the ensemble skills vital for becoming a versatile and grounded jazz musician.  

 

Jazz Orchestra 

The Trinity Laban Jazz Orchestra, led by renowned saxophonist and improviser Mark Lockheart, showcases final year jazz composers and improvisers making waves before they hit the wider jazz scene. 

 

Jazz Choir 

Jazz Choir, led by the renowned pianist and educator Pete Churchill, is an opportunity to get involved as a singer on a termly basis. Jazz Choir is open to students across all departments. 

In addition to the orchestral and ensemble activity timetabled by the Performance Department, you are encouraged to develop your own ensembles, and you are supported and encouraged in this endeavour by teaching staff and faculty resources. With many concert opportunities in Greenwich and across London, your self-led ensembles can start from scratch here at Trinity Laban and help develop your professional profile.


Partnerships and Collaboration 

Collaboration is at the centre of Trinity Laban’s life and ethos. Our partnerships with leading artistic organisations ensure that you will benefit from rich performance experiences and close networks with the profession. 

Our popular Side by Side projects with major orchestras – such as the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra – and collaborations with the likes of the Royal Opera House’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and the Kronos and Smith Quartets allow you to learn directly from, and share your work with, professionals at the top of their game. 

We have an ever-growing list of professional and artistic partnerships including: 

  • BBC Concert Orchestra 
  • Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra 
  • City of London Sinfonia 
  • English National Opera 
  • London Philharmonic Orchestra 
  • Southbank Centre 
  • Sound Connections 

You will also have the opportunity to collaborate with students across the conservatoire in festivals including CoLab. Additionally, there are opportunities to take part in external festivals such as the Royal Greenwich International Early Music Festival, London Handel Festival, The Greenwich Guitar Festival, The Brandenburg Choral Festival of London, London Jazz Festival, Spitalfields Festival and BBC Proms. 


Competitions and Prizes 

You will take part in a number of competitions annually. From large scale internal competitions to intercollegiate competitions. 

 

Internal Competitions 

  • The Soloists’ Competition (All Instrument and Voice) 
  • Daryl Runswick Composition Competition (Composition) 
  • The John Longmire Competition (Solo Piano) 
  • The Alison Stephens Competition for Plucked and Fretted Instruments (Not including Harp) 
  • The Philip Jones Competition (Brass) 
  • The John Barbirolli Competition (String quartet) 
  • The Vernon Elliot Competition (Bassoon) 
  • The John Halford Competition (Piano and Composition) 
  • The Harold Clarke Competition (Woodwind) 
  • The Historically Informed Performance Competition (All) 
  • The Gladys Puttick Improvisation Competition (All) 
  • The Elisabeth Schumann Lieder Competition (Voice and Piano) 
  • The Leonard Smith & Felicity Young competition (String and Piano) 
  • The Evelyn Rothwell Competition for Solo Oboe 
  • The Wilfred Hambleton Competition (Clarinet) 
  • The Lillian Ash French Song Competition 
  • The Alfred Kitchin Competition 
  • The Vera Kantrovitch Prize (solo strings) 
  • The English Song Competition (Voice and Piano) 
  • The Vivian joseph Classical Concerto Competition (Bowed Strings) 

 

External Competitions 

  • Jaques Samuel Piano Competition 
  • The Kathleen Ferrier Awards 
  • CAVATINA Intercollegiate Chamber Music Competition 
  • Camac Competition 

Popular Music Opportunities 

As a student in our Popular Music department, you will have many opportunities to perform at events across London. Each year, we hold a festival at Blackheath Halls showcasing your work, as well as smaller gigs in venues including The Fox and Firkin in Lewisham, and the Theatreship moored in Canary Wharf.  

You will have numerous recording opportunities in our studio at King Charles Court and other professional studios across the city, where you will get to work with highly skilled producers and engineers. Recording sessions have recently taken place at Abbey Road Studios in partnership with Warner Music Group, and students have visited USC’s studios in California as part of our ongoing collaboration with their Popular Music department. 

In South East London, you are surrounded by venues hosting open mic nights and jams, and there are lots of opportunities for you to put on your own gigs and have your music heard. 


Solo Recitals 

Solo performance is a key part of life as a student at Trinity Laban. Performance skills learned in Principal Study mentoring come together to provide a springboard onto the stage and into the world of live performance. Regular solo performances give you the opportunity to hone and practise skills in preparation for the professional world. 

Regular lunchtime concert series provide opportunities for you to perform in beautiful venues including St Alfege Church and the Old Royal Naval College Chapel in Greenwich. There are also a range of exciting performances at prestigious venues throughout the city of London including Wigmore Hall, St James’s Piccadilly, St Martin-in-the-Fields and Steinway Hall. 

Musical Theatre

We distinguish ourselves by equipping you with the creative and technical skills required to work in a diverse range of musical theatre contexts. On graduation, you will be thoroughly prepared for this competitive and increasingly popular branch of the arts industry. 

You will take part in fully produced musicals, showcases of classic and contemporary musical theatre repertoire, take productions to local schools, and in your final year you will have a West End agent showcase. Recent shows have included High School Musical, Spring Awakening and Loserville.  

As an undergraduate student, you will have the chance to perform in prestigious professional venues, including our own Blackheath Halls and Laban Theatre, Leicester Square Theatre in London’s West End, and Stratford Circus. 

Trinity Laban allows you to build skills in a safe, supportive environment which is ideal for becoming a unique individual performer. I feel I have developed both personally and as a performer!

Rebecca Hoyle BA (Hons) Musical Theatre Performance 


CoLab

Each spring, you will take part in CoLab; a two-week festival where you will come together with students and staff from across the conservatoire, and visiting artists from around the world, to create works rooted in imagination and experimentation.  

Here you can take risks in a creative environment which prioritises process, enabling you to push the boundaries of your artform.  

You can propose projects or get involved with those put forward by students and/or staff. There is an extensive and eclectic range of projects to be a part of, including interdisciplinary work with dance, art and theatre, an array of musical styles, and the opportunity to work with our partner organisations.